Sage Monarch

Chancellor Demi-Immortal was like a wounded viper, willing to remain in hiding for as long as it took to land a single deadly bite onto Yang Qi. Unfortunately, the more time that went by, the less likely it seemed he would succeed. Yang Qi’s cultivation base continued to climb, and even his clone was beyond Chancellor Demi-Immortal’s ability to catch up to.

In his despair, the chancellor had already decided that he needed to seek outside help.

Gritting his teeth, he prepared to leave, but before he could, someone clicked their tongue.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the famous Chancellor Demi-Immortal, genius of cultivation. Unfortunately, you’re little more than a pitiful stray dog nowadays. You know, you could probably benefit from my help.”

“Who’s there?” Chancellor Demi-Immortal said, spinning around in shock to find someone hovering right in front of him.

It was a young man clad in yellow clothing, with a buzz cut. He seemed to be in good spirits, yet as he stared at the jade sphere that was the Sage Monarch Continent, his eyes flickered with deadly venom. It was almost as if he could hardly control himself, and would attack the place at any moment.

This was the successor of King Immortal-Slayer, who had suffered at the hands of Yang Qi in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Although he was only a third step Great Sage, his aura vastly surpassed Chancellor Demi-Immortal’s, to the point where it seemed like a fight between the two would be no contest. That realization caused Chancellor Demi-Immortal to shiver in fear and the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.

“Don’t be afraid,” the young man said, chuckling. “I bear you no ill will. But I hate that Yang Qi. He screwed me over in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart and benefited greatly because of it. For example, did you know that he has over a hundred primeval godworm eggs?”

“What?” Chancellor Demi-Immortal blurted in shock. “A hundred? Are you sure? I thought those things were fictional. How could he have gotten so many?”

“By clever planning,” the young man replied. “He tricked a whole group of top experts and snatched the eggs right out from under their noses. What do you think? If word spread about that, it would cause a huge commotion in the Titan Emperor Collegium. I bet the old-timers there would try to force him to hand them over, and if that happened we could essentially strike at Yang Qi without lifting a hand.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Chancellor Demi-Immortal said suspiciously.

The young man in yellow closed his eyes. “If we join forces, we might be able to take Yang Qi out. But if we wait too long, it will reach the point where we will be powerless to do anything. By the way, I want something from you.”

“You want something from me? What, exactly?” Chancellor Demi-Immortal had no idea who this young man was or where he came from, and had no idea what his true motivations were.

“Where is King Immortal-Slayer’s legacy medallion?” the young man asked casually. “When the Crown Prince died at Yang Qi’s hand, he had one of them. Rumors spread that Yang Qi took it, but I found out that those rumors are false. Apparently, the medallion flew off on its own accord. No one was closer to the Crown Prince than you, therefore I suspect that you’re involved in its disappearance. In fact, I bet you know exactly where it is.”

“Legacy medallion? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the act. I'm a successor of King Immortal-Slayer and I already have two of the medallions. You have no idea how much stronger I am than the Crown Prince, and you’re also clueless about how to use the legacy medallions. If you tried to use one, it would drain your energy and kill you. But if I had a total of three, I could freely enter and exit the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. There would be no waiting around for ten thousand years! If I successfully managed that, I would be more than willing to take you into the monarch chart with me. Think of how much that would benefit you. And think of the glory you could achieve if you joined me when I took control of the entire thing.”

“What?” Chancellor Demi-Immortal said, staring at the young man. “You already have two of King Immortal-Slayer’s legacy medallions? Your destiny seems to surpass that of the Crown Prince! But he was a god from heaven descended into the mortal world, or at least an expert from an immortal world. Are you saying that you were born in an even more unbelievable fashion than that?”

“That’s exactly what I'm saying. I surpass him in ways you can’t even imagine, and in fact, you couldn’t guess my origin if I gave you infinite guesses. And thus, I’ll ask you again. Where is that legacy medallion?”

“What’s in it for me?” Chancellor Demi-Immortal said. “Unless I profit, I'm not going to work with you. And don’t think you’ll be able to kill me if I refuse. You might be strong, but I have a thousand and one ways to escape. Very few people alive could possibly kill me, although you’re welcome to try.”

The young man in yellow looked at him for a long moment, then said, “Very crafty, you old fox.” 

Reaching into his garment, he pulled out a jade booklet and a jade-colored bottle gourd that contained a minor world built around a medicinal pill.

“This is a manual for a lesser godly-class energy art, the Great Dao Vital Energy Heavenspan Painting Amulet. And this is a Great Dao Heavenspan Deathless Gold Pill. With these, you’ll have a godly-class energy art at your disposal. I got them from the remains of an ancient immortal in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. I thought of cultivating it, but I already have King Immortal-Slayer’s Myriad Monarchs Immortal-Slayer’s Energy, which is actually far superior. Besides, I don’t have time to cultivate anything else. I’ll give you these two things, but don’t even think of trying to use them against me.”

“A lesser godly-class energy art? Seriously?” It was something Chancellor Demi-Immortal could previously only have dreamed of, and would lead to rapid cultivation advancement. “Give it to me! Give it to me, and I’ll tell you where King Immortal-Slayer’s legacy medallion is. Yang Qi took everything that belonged to the Crown Prince after killing him, but apparently the most mysterious thing of all flew off into the depths of the Yore-Wilds planetary system, where it ended up in some ancient ruins.”

“Ancient ruins? Which ones?”

“Give me that energy art,” Chancellor Demi-Immortal said. Obviously he was familiar with the old saying you don’t release the hawk until you’ve seen the hare.

“Alright, fine,” the young man said. “But first, swear an oath that you’ll help me get that third legacy medallion.”

“No problem.” Chancellor Demi-Immortal immediately swore a deadly oath, whereupon the young man in yellow tossed over the daoist text and the medicinal pill. Chancellor Demi-Immortal didn’t do anything with them for the moment. He placed some magical seals on them and then put them away.

“You really do play things safe,” the young man said. “Don’t worry, I'm not up to any mischief, and I didn’t mess with either the manual or the pill. Now, what are these ruins you just mentioned?”

“In years past, when the top experts of the Yore-Wilds fought the Hell of Euphoria, there was a battlefield that later came to be known as the Chaos-Devil Danger Zone. The truth is that I knew all along that the Crown Prince had that legacy medallion, and I actually took him to the Chaos-Devil Danger Zone for training purposes on several occasions. Unfortunately, I was never able to get inside, thanks to the lingering killing intent of the immortals and devils. Do you really think you can get in?”

“Hah. Danger zone? I doubt it can compare to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Let’s go. Once I get that third legacy medallion, I’ll help you achieve your ends in the Titan Emperor Collegium. Do you think you can arrange for me to join the collegium? That would make it much easier to deal with Yang Qi.”

“Of course. Come on, let’s go.”

Even as they were preparing to leave, more rumbling sounds echoed out from the Sage Monarch Continent as the place experienced another major transformation. The two of them turned to see what was happening.

RUUUUUUMBLE!

The Sage Monarch Continent was now a beautiful, emerald-green planet, like something that would adorn the scepters of the ancient legion of gods. From a distance, it looked like a perfectly smooth sphere hanging in the darkness and gloom, emanating a jade-like glow. Upon nearing it, one could see spirit mountains, holy lands, and beautiful scenery of all sorts.

As it rotated, it created spatial tempests that would prevent anyone from casually approaching it.

There were already hundreds of satellite planets visible. Although they were tiny, they surpassed anything which had existed near the Rich-Lush Continent. In fact, some of them were already holy lands of cultivation, although none of them could rival the new Planet Sage Monarch.

With those satellites, it was clear that this place would eventually be a planetary system.

Not even the old Quake-Dawn Continent had possessed satellites such as this.

As time went on, they would be colonized and begin to build up vital energy. And more satellites would come into being as the mother planet grew stronger and bigger.

As of this moment, both the young man with the buzz cut and Chancellor Demi-Immortal could sense that Planet Sage Monarch’s defenses were vastly stronger than before.

“Let’s leave,” the young man said. “Parlor tricks like this make me laugh.” Waving his sleeve, he turned and left.

** 

Looking around, Yang Qi’s immortal clone thought, ‘The continent has finally become a planet.’ 

Vast lands of jade stretched out around him, and the spirit energy was stronger than ever. And there were one thousand eight hundred satellite planets, the smallest of which was double the size of the old Rich-Lush Continent.

Of course, the power surges were felt by Yang Qi’s true self back in the Hell of Mahānata.

As he sat there, eyes closed in meditation, a wormhole opened up above his head and power poured into him. It was almost as if he had just consumed an incredible medicinal pill.

‘Alright, I'm ready for the fifth step tribulation. It's time to become a Light King Sage! I wonder what the tribulation will be like.’

RUUUUUUMBLE!

As he rose to his feet, a tidal flow of tribulation built up within the Hell of Mahānata.